Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:66
And We conveyed to him [the decree] of that matter: that those [sinners] would be eliminated by early morning.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He, exalted be His praise, says: And We exempted Lūṭ from that matter and revealed that the offspring of these people would be cut off at the break of morning — that is to say: the last of your people and the first will be uprooted and destroyed in the early morning of that night. The word "anna" in His word أَنَّ دَابِرَ is in the accusative as a reference back to the report concerning the pronouncement of the verdict upon it. It may also be in the accusative on account of the dropping of the preposition, in which case the meaning would be: We communicated that matter to him, namely that the offspring of these people would be cut off at the break of morning. It has been mentioned that in the reading of ʿAbdallāh this reads: "And We said: Truly, the offspring of these people will be cut off at the break of morning." By His word مُصْبِحِينَ is meant: when they enter the morning, or at the time at which they enter the morning.
In the sense of what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said, concerning His word أَنَّ دَابِرَ هَؤُلاءِ مَقْطُوعٌ مُصْبِحِينَ : that is to say: their total destruction at the break of morning.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ الأَمْرَ (And We communicated that matter to him): he said: And We revealed it to him.
